


A prayer

by unsteadylight



Category: Supernatural
Genre: 15x20, Fix-It, M/M, Season/Series 15, how i think the barn scene should've gone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-25
Updated: 2020-11-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:02:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27708755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unsteadylight/pseuds/unsteadylight
Summary: Cas heard his prayer as clear as the first time it happened all those years ago.
Relationships: Castiel & Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester, Castiel/Dean Winchester/Sam Winchester
Kudos: 54





	A prayer

Cas heard his prayer as clear as the first time it happened all those years ago.   
It was only moments after Jack rescued him from the Empty and up to his new version of heaven and began to fill him in on the events that transpired after his sacrifice. But as soon as Dean’s voice broke through his consciousness, he tuned Jack out and focused on the words echoing inside his head.  
Dean was in trouble. He had to get to Dean.   
Jack understood wordlessly and released him with all his restored powers and grace.   
Castiel followed the trace of Dean’s plea through the space and dimensions separating them. He knew he called out of habit. It was the same ‘Cas, buddy, a little help here,’ it always has been when they needed the angelic back-up. It must have only been a few weeks, but he missed their connection terribly.   
The first thing he saw, as he appeared in the shadows of the barn, was Sam’s tear stricken face. He was holding Dean up against the wooden pole.   
Dean looked terrified, asking Sam to tell him it was going to be okay.   
With horror, Castiel realized that Dean was dying. His mind rapidly analyzed the surroundings and calculated the lingering threat. It must have been a hunt gone wrong. He wasn’t there to help them and his heart clenched with guilt.   
Sam opened his mouth to speak but Castiel’s deep voice interrupted the sad attempt at comforting his dying brother.  
‘It’s not okay, Dean.’  
Both of their faces snapped in the direction of the sound and Cas stepped out of the shadows.   
‘Cas’, Dean’s voice was weak, but he’s never heard a sweeter sound in all his billions years of existence.   
‘Cas, you’ve gotta help him!’ Sam pleaded with desperation and moved out of the way as Cas stepped in his place and pulled Dean away from the pole. The angelic grace seeped into his damaged body and Dean sagged in Castiel’s arms, his injuries disappearing.   
After a long moment, Dean regained his footing, but didn’t move away, instead he gripped the angel’s shoulders tightly, almost painfully.   
‘Cas’ he moved his hands up to his face. ‘You came.’  
‘I always come when you call, Dean. You know that.’ Cas didn’t know what else to say. Of course, he came. This wasn’t Dean’s ending. This wasn’t what they all fought and bled for.   
Dean pulled him into an embrace that had lasted longer than he could recall it had before (he would know - he'd always counted the seconds).   
Sam, with all his bear-like glory, interrupted their moment when he pulled them both into his arms.   
Dean started laughing - a little broken, a little sad laugh. It dawned on all three of them. The reality of the situation.   
Dean didn’t have to pretend he was at peace with the way things were and he could forget the heartbreak of all those nights he spent begging Jack to bring Cas back only to be met with deafening silence.   
Sam could finally feel the heavy stone drop from his soul when he realized he didn’t have to wait for his brother’s inevitable blow-up, when he finally confronted his grief. 

And Cas, well, Cas wasn’t in the Empty anymore. He was home. 

They rode to the bunker in the Impala. Dean was driving, Sam’s head was pressed against the window as he slept through the ride. Cas was trying not to acknowledge the glances Dean was sending in his direction in the rearview mirror. He wasn’t sure what was the appropriate thing to say, whether to acknowledge his confession or to simply go back to the way they always addressed the emotions between the two of them - by not doing it.   
Dean solved the dilemma for him when they stopped at the gas station. Cas stepped out of the car to get some air while Dean went inside the store to get some food for the rest of the ride. Sam was still sleeping soundly. Cas never understood how he did that. Even as a human, he found falling asleep to be a tricky task. It seemed he needed the perfect setting for it - quiet, soothing, warm. On the other hand, Sam fell asleep just about anywhere.   
While he was pondering Sam’s sleeping habits, Dean returned and came up next to him, bottle of water in hand.   
For a while, they stood there in silence, both leaning on the car behind them. Dean took a gulp of the water and threw it through the open window on his seat. When he straightened up, his voice interrupted Castiel’s thoughts.   
‘It really seems like we’re free at last.’ Dean said slowly with a hint of sarcasm, while looking up to the stars, as if tracing the constellations would calm the nerves tying up his stomach.  
‘Yes, it appears so.’ Cas didn’t understand his undertone, but the longer he studied his face, the easier he noticed a change in his expression - it was now open and vulnerable, the way he’d rarely seen it before.   
‘Did you mean what you said?’ Dean glanced at Cas. ‘You know, before the whole sacrifice thing.’  
‘Yes, Dean. I meant it.’ Cas almost forgot to breathe while he waited for his answer. It wasn’t as if he would abandon Dean even if his feelings were not reciprocated - that would never happen. But still, a small part of him was hoping for something else beside rejection. He wasn’t sure what exactly, since this kind of human relation was new and strange to him at best. Despite that, he hoped.   
Dean turned to him fully, in the faint glow of the gas station light, the most beautiful thing Cas had ever seen.   
His eyes were shining with the hint of tears. ‘I begged Jack to bring you back, Cas. Every day. I never abandoned you.’  
‘I know, Dean.’ Cas did know. That’s what they did. They saved each other.   
‘Damn it, you would guess that after a couple of armageddons, I would find a way to say it.’ Dean choked up on a laugh.   
‘Dean…’ Cas didn’t want to force this on him, especially now when it seemed it caused him distress. ‘I don’t want to hurt you. You don’t have to say anything. I won’t leave you.’ As an afterthought, he added ‘If you’ll have me, of course.’  
‘That’s what I’m trying to say, dummy.’ Dean proclaimed. ‘I will always have you. I want to have you. Because happiness kind of is in the having, Cas.’  
The hope in his chest grew bigger. ‘You want to have me?’  
‘We can choose our lives now. And I choose you, Cas. If that’s something you’d want, that is.’ He was looking down at his feet, scared to meet the angel’s eyes. Dean still wasn’t sure how angels, a different species, experienced emotions. But he’d seen Cas care and love and take care of people, and he wanted that all for himself.   
‘Dean.’ He said more forcefully, as to make Dean look at him. When their eyes finally met, he confessed one more time. ‘I love you.’   
Castiel didn’t expect the short and sweet kiss that came after. But he didn’t expect a lot of things. Like that time when he raised Dean Winchester from perdition and his life changed forever. Most of all, he didn’t expect how soft his lips would feel against his own. 

But that was a mystery he was happy to ponder - for the rest of their lives and hopefully for a long time after.


End file.
